


Gaze into the abyss

by RedQ14



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Runaways (TV 2017)
Genre: Canon Divergence, Canon-Typical Violence, Dark Chase, Eventual Smut, F/M, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, Jealous Chase, Jealous Gert, Telepathic Bond, possessive chase
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-22
Updated: 2018-02-01
Packaged: 2019-03-08 08:02:01
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,445
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13453923
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RedQ14/pseuds/RedQ14
Summary: He saw her gaze, laser in on the target and her whole body shifted. It was barely noticeable but she suddenly gave off an almost predatory vibe.It stirred something in him. He immediately tried to push it down, he didn’t need his father’s darkness causing them more trouble than they were already in.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is my very first attempt at writing something. I do not own any of these characters. I will only continue this story if people enjoy it and only as long as I have inspiration. Thank you for understanding.

He swore the telepathic link with Old Lace had affected some of Gert’s baser instincts.

They were trying to sneak Nico out of the gym to get to the building site their parents were currently at. Probably conspiring about another murder.

Well in his case, just his mom. Chase’s fists clenched shut. _Not going there. Focus !_

Trying to lose the guard dog Nico’s mom had set on her proved more difficult than expected. That is, until Gert caught sight of him and declared: “I got this.”.

Chase wanted to protest. The guy looked like he was in a biker gang. Unfortunately once Gert sets her mind on something..

He saw her gaze, laser in on the target and her whole body shifted. It was barely noticeable but she suddenly gave off an almost predatory vibe.

It stirred something in him. He immediately tried to push it down, he didn’t need his father’s darkness causing them more trouble than they were already in.

By the time he was back in control, Gert had crossed the dance floor and was making her way to bikerguy.

 

                                                                       ***

 

She remembered their stalker from the gala. They needed to get to the building site to gather more evidence against their parents or she’d never get Molly back.

After her parents had send Molly away, all the drama with Chase and Karoline had shifted to the background. Molly came first. Always. She was going to get her sister back and distracting the guy that had previously hit on her, was going to help them get one step closer to that goal.

“Hey Gert!”

She nearly collided with the body that had appeared in front of her.

“Um”

“It’s Jason, we were lab partners last year, remember?”

Gert was still trying to process the obstacle standing in her way when she recognized the brown curls and dimples. Jason, decent partner, smart enough and he was always nice to her. Then she remembered he was on the lacrosse team, with Chase.

After what happened with Karo, her face must have been showing the repulsion and anger she felt, because he raised his hands in a defensive gesture and started talking.

“Look before you punch me, you have to know I didn’t have anything to do with those two assholes. In fact they were thrown out of the team and if it was up to me, they’d be reported to the police. Though I guess that’s up to your friend to do.”

Gert would be happy to go in discussion with the guy, if only they weren’t in a time crunch.

“You’re right that’s up to her.”

She took a step forward, intending to go around him and get to her actual destination, when she felt his hand grab on to her arm.

“Hey wait, I know it doesn’t look good but I swear I had nothing to do with it. Give me a chance to prove it. At least let me have one dance, if you still don’t want anything to do with me after, I’ll back off.”

Was he still talking? She was getting impatient. Great, now he was looking at her like a lost puppy. She remembered him asking her to get a drink after last year’s final test, but she always thought he was just being polite. Maybe all the flirty smiles and touches in lab class weren’t him, sucking up to her so she’d do more than him.

Oh.

Jezus, how did she miss that?

Right. Chase.

Before Gert even got a word out, a large shape slipped between them, forcing Jason to take a step back.

Maybe thinking his name had summoned him or something?

If Gert had looked at Jason’s face, she would have seen the apprehension. If she’d looked at Chase’s, she would have seen the menace he’d learned to hide from the others.

Instead, she locked on to her target once more and continued her hunt. _Get Molly back._

 

                                                                      ***

The rage didn’t start when he saw Jason fucking Whiteman step in front of Gert. It didn’t even start when he laid a hand on her arm, though he did feel the darkness start to churn in his gut at the familiarity of that touch.

_The darkness,_ he’d started to call it that, after he recognized the possessive anger for what it was. His father’s DNA.

No, the moment the rage came, was the moment Chase saw the look in Jason’s eyes. It was also the moment he remembered he had legs.

How had he fucking missed that? When the hell did his former teammate grow feelings for his _NO. Stop. Don’t go there. Keep it contained, now is not the time, too much is going on._

The darkness was there but Chase kept it under control.. for now.

He reached Gert and forced his way between their bodies. _Too close._

Jason took a step back. When he noticed who’d come between them, his eyes widened. Chase glanced at Gert, she didn’t need to hear what was about to be said, and he still needed to stop her from getting to bikerguy.

He might not have been there when she’d distracted him at the gala, but Alex had updated him and Karoline on what had happened. While he hadn’t given any details, Chase recognized Gert’s strut as that of a woman on the prowl.

When he saw her distracted look, zero in on something to their right, he knew the predator was back.

Jason’s gaze followed her disappearing figure, then snapped his eyes back to Chase. Very well, he would make this short. Then make his way to Gert and bikerguy before she made him lose whatever little control he had left.

_And after we deal with our parents, she and I are going to have a nice long chat. And after that. Stop. Focus._

Chase looked back at Jason. _No violence, we can’t afford the extra attention. Easier said than done._ He clenched his fists again, it was starting to get too easy to use them. Chase was a physical guy and his dad had made sure he had more than enough pent up anger to use, the two combined got Chase in plenty of fistfights until it became second nature to raise them. Maybe that’s how it started for his father, maybe he was violent because it felt natural. _I’m not him. Yes I am._ No that wasn’t true. Chase would never hurt Gert, or Molly, or the others. He protects them, by hurting anyone who threatens them. _Or looks at his Gert. His?_ Enough, he needed to focus and get back control over the anger growing in him.

Jason swallowed. “look man, I know we’re not supposed to talk to her, or whatever, but she’s my friend ok? And you’ve been ignoring her for two years.” He looked nervous, hands twitching while he shifted his stance. Yet despite that, his old teammate kept looking him in the eyes.

He respects the guy’s tenacity.

He doesn’t respect it that much. “Friend?”, Chase says. “That’s weird, ‘cause I’m her friend, and I’m pretty sure I’ve never seen you two hang out. I mean, I get it ok? She’s pretty, smart, you like her, you’d like to go out with her, yes?”

Jason eyes him wearily. “uh, yeah, I guess?”

“You guess?”

Chase knows that by now, the guy should be getting the sarcasm in his voice. And the underlying threat.

Jason doesn’t disappoint. He can see the other guy’s eyes narrow and his jaw clench.

“You don’t talk to her for two years and when someone else does, you get pissed and territorial?” Jason’s face turns into a snarl. Posture straightening, he steps closer to Chase. The air starts to thicken with tension and the people around them are starting to notice.

“Does she know you staked your claim on her, like she’s a slab of meat? Do you think she’d still be your ‘ _friend’_ if she knew you pissed on her like a dog?”

Now, normally Chase would have knocked him out by now. No one needs to know he punched Timothy Lockner’s lights out some time back for professing interest in Gert. He supposes the warning look he’d given the others after doing it, had stuck. Good.

Trying to keep a low profile however, meant he couldn’t start throwing around his fists. He needed to be more subtle. _Stick to what you know._ Threats it is.

Jason was close enough for Chase to grab so he fisted a handful of the guy’s dress shirt and squared his shoulders. Murmuring lowly, he leaned in, letting him see the viciousness in his eyes: “You’re going to stay away from her. You’re not going to talk to her, you’re not going to look at her. If I even see you near her again, I’m not just going to beat you into a pulp, I’m going to ruin you. Do you understand?”

He caught the flash of fear in Jason’s eyes and tried not to get high on the feeling of power it gave him. _I am my father’s son. No one touches, what’s mine._ Letting the darkness out, even for a moment, felt intoxicating. _Not as intoxicating as she will feel. Not now!_

_Soon._

“you know how powerful my family is right? You still want to get into Stanford?” He let the threat take effect. Jason paled. “You’re crazy.” He hissed. “ Whatever. You’re not worth the hassle.” He stepped back and Chase let him go. The shaking in Jason’s voice, might as well have been the baring of his throat. It was a clear surrender. It had to be enough. He still needed to stop Gert from getting to yet another man.

He would distract bikerguy, Nico and Alex would slip out, Karo was already waiting outside and Chase would try to refrain from spanking Gert. _For now._

                                                                      

***

 


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for the sweet comments. They are surprisingly effective for motivation.

_Molly. Neutralize any threat to Molly._ She kept repeating the mantra in her mind.

Family had always been the most important thing to Gert. Molly, becoming her little sister had created a soft, protective side in Gert, only growing stronger over the years. Now, with their parents turning out to be complete strangers, murderous strangers, Molly became the sole focus of Gert’s protective side.

Yes, she cared about the others. Cared a great deal in fact, but Molly was her responsibility. The others couldn’t understand that, because they didn’t have siblings. The only one who could have possibly understood, was Amy.

Now more than ever, Gert missed Amy. They were never the closest but Amy was the only one who’d understood the responsibility of having a younger sibling.

Exposing their parents was the only guarantee she had, that they wouldn’t try to silence Molly the way they’d silenced Amy. Just the thought of losing Molly caused her body to tense up. She felt a growl working its way up her throat.

Having a dinosaur obeying your commands, definitely has its advantages. The side effects of that connection were still something Gert was trying to get used to however. She was feeling somewhat more base-driven these days. Anger, lust, hunger and so on. She got pissed more quickly, whether it was out of protectiveness, jealousy or fear. As of late she’d been having the reoccurring urge to growl at people. She’d even cocked her head to the side a few times, like a freaking dog.

Gert tried to clear her head. Unless she wanted to distract her target by baring her teeth or, Goddess forbid, sniffing his ass, she needed to get her shit together. The guy already knew who she was, he wasn’t stupid. Subtlety was the key here.

“So you hang around school dances too huh?”

_Damn._              

She’d forgotten he was attractive. He was way too old for her, was probably a criminal (working for their parents and all) and even exuded a sense of danger. Now normally the whole caveman thing didn’t work on Gert. She was too clever and evolved for that. (While studies showed that, being attracted to strong, older males is simply a leftover primal instinct that helps females find a mate capable of taking care of them and their offspring; any evolved woman should know that having a man is no longer required for reproduction, only the seed is needed, which is obtainable via other methods.)

Normally.

Ah.

There it is. Another side effect.

 

Apparently Lace was of a different mindset. _Well I suppose it’s only fair._ She got a taste of Lace’s senses. Heightened sense of smell, hearing, sight. By now the glasses were purely decorative. So in retrospect, being susceptible to the power of testosterone, would be a fair price.

“ I’m not the only one that doesn’t fit in here.” He rumbled.

So he probably knew she was a distraction, both now and last time. He might’ve been talking to her but she saw his gaze sweep around the room.

_Time to step up my game_. Dropping her voice a bit lower, she jutted out a hip and looked up at him through her eyelashes.

“That seems a bit rude. Just because I don’t believe in conforming to the norm, doesn’t mean I don’t like to dance once in a while.”

The shift in her stance had drawn his attention to her. She could see his amusement at her reply. She could also see his flicker of attention go from her eyes to her body. Men. So easy. Well except for Chase, he was different. Or maybe not, she was probably biased.

_Not the time to start with that again._ If she focused on Chase now, they’d never get out of here.

“You know I think you owe me a dance.”

“Do you now? And why would you think that?”

She saw his eyes crinkle and a smirk start to form.

“Well for starters, I am currently without a dance partner. Also, you might blend in a bit more. You’re drawing the attention of the teachers.” Gert pointedly looked at Miss Pinborrough, standing to their right. He must have noticed the suspicion on the teacher’s face because she immediately saw his brows crunch together.

He sighed.

Gert held back a triumphant grin. She was about to hold out her hand to him, when she felt a presence looming over her. Her hackles were raised. Every instinct she had screamed: DANGER!

She turned around.

 

                                                                       ***

 

 

_What the hell ?!_

It was Chase.

A barrage of feelings washed over her. Chase wasn’t dangerous. Chase was Chase. And yet.  

She felt conflicted. Her eyes told her it was Chase, they grew up together, she knew him. Then there were her more primal senses. Senses she’d learned to trust because Old Lace would never steer her wrong. They told her he was dangerous, a threat. Gert took in his stance. Eyes, focused on the man that was behind her with a look she didn’t recognize, not on _his_ face. Shoulders hunched forward, legs spread apart and fist clenched tight. Now Chase was a protective guy. He would do this for any of them. Watching him posture like this probably even looked a bit ridiculous from afar, seeing as he was quite a bit smaller than the other guy. However, standing this close to him, it didn’t feel ridiculous. Gert could feel the malice rolling off of him. He wasn’t supposed to look intimidating next to a man who looked like he was in the mob. And yet.

Gert turned back around, ready to lighten the mood when two things happened. First, she saw her own thoughts reflected in the face before her. If a guy, working for Tina Minoru, saw danger in Chase, something was definitely wrong. Next, she felt an arm coming around her body and a hand being splayed across her stomach.

Her breath hitched and any words she might have spoken got stuck in her throat.

 

His arm pulled her closer. She looked down, saw his muscles flex and his fingers spread wider. _Were his hands always this large?_ She was flush against his chest by now. _How does he feel this hard? I can’t think. Wasn’t there something I needed to do? Molly!_ The thought of Molly allowed Gert to breath in and get some oxygen in her brain. It also allowed her to take in his smell. _Mine. Wait. What? Okay, so dinosaurs get possessive, fantastic._ _Chase likes Karoline! Get the hell over it!_ DAMNIT! Okay she needed to focus.

Unfortunately Chase had other ideas.

She felt him press even closer. His breath hit her ear. “Go. Find Karolina and the others. I’ll be there in a minute.” His voice a low growl as his lips touched her ear. Had she ever heard him speak like that? She could still feel the tension radiating off of him. Any other night she would have fought him on this but he already looked angry. It wasn’t just his voice, it was all of him. They were running out of time, best not to anger him further. So when she felt him moving back, Gert decided to do as he said and leave before her knees buckled from desire. _From anxiety! Yeah right._  

As she moved away from the two men and tried to get her breathing back under control, she promised herself she’d find out what was going on with chase as soon as Molly was safe and they dealt with their parents.

***

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter is a flashback to Chase becoming a little twisted.


	3. Chapter 3

When Chase was eight, his dad hit him. The hitting wasn’t new, it wasn’t even worth mentioning at that point. Only that time, something was different. His dad had just reprimanded him for leaving his toys laying around. Normally his dad wouldn’t have noticed. He didn’t care about Chase making a mess in the house, Janet always kept things tidy enough for when Victor would grace them with his presence.

This particular toy however, had been found in the lab. The lab, Chase wasn’t supposed to enter lest he disturb his father whilst working or worse, break something more valuable than him.

After being slapped across the face by his dad, ‘ _to teach him discipline’_ , Victor Stein decided to teach his son another lesson and broke his toy in two. It was Chase’s favorite: a blue Stegosaurus, given to him by his mother after a particularly long trip to the hospital because of a broken arm he got from _falling out of a tree_.

That was the first time Chase felt the darkness growing in him. At the time he didn’t know what it was of course, he just felt angry. So angry. He believes, looking back now, that his father may have known, or at least recognized something in Chase he knew. Victor had taken a step back after seeing his sons body still _. Like the silence before the storm._ Chase had simply stood there, breathing hard through his nose, fists clenched, trying not to scream. Eventually his dad left and the anger went away. Then he cried.

Two weeks later, Chase finally erupted. Some older kid had been bullying them on the playground. Stealing Karolina’s snacks, throwing pebbles at Nico when Amy wasn’t around, calling them names.( It turned out, the boy’s father just lost his job and had been ranting to his family about rich people and how they took poor people’s jobs. He guesses the kid’s hate for rich people was just vague enough that hurting any rich kid would do.) When the boy started calling their parents thieves while pushing Alex to the ground, Karolina began to cry and Chase lost his patience. His protective instinct reared its head and he threw himself at the bully. The next thing he knew, he was screaming and hitting the kid. Over and over. At that age he hadn’t learned how to land a proper punch but it didn’t matter, he was feeding his rage and pain into hitting the other boy and the kid didn’t stand a chance. The adrenaline made him stronger and the more he hit, the angrier he got. By the time people were trying to pull him off the bully, he’d started to like it.

Alex was trying to pull him up, so were two teachers but there was only one thing that got him to stop in that moment. One thing that got him to calm down. What he remembers most of that day is her voice. Her sweet lilting voice. She kept saying the same thing over and over again: “ _Chase stop. Please stop. Chase!”_. Her, saying his name somehow got him back to his senses. She was breathing hard, probably having an anxiety attack. It was his job to protect them when Amy wasn’t there and he was upsetting her. He let go of the boy and reigned in all the blackness that had come pouring out. He promised himself in that moment, to never let his darkness affect his friends like that again most of all his sweet Gert.

 

By the time Chase was fifteen, he’d learned to channel his darkness into sports. The coach didn’t mind if he got aggressive and Chase got to enjoy the pain he caused when he tackled an opponent and the thrill of power it gave him. He got most of it out his system by the end of practice and his friends never needed to see that ugly side of him, it was a win-win.

All was well until puberty hit. He may had gotten his aggression under control but the crush he had on Gert was starting to grow in something deeper and less controllable. The protective feelings he had for her, acquired a possessive edge. He noticed her. Her changing body, those sweet curves. He already loved her by then, but that love changed and grew along with them as they got older. As long as her eyes were on him, everything was ok, and they were, he made sure of it. But he couldn’t help seeing interest in other eyes as well. He even had a bad few days were he was convinced Alex was after her. Those days were very tense and it probably would’ve ended badly if Amy hadn’t assured him that Alex only had eyes for Nico. Amy was perceptive that way.

The anger started getting worse again, he saw competition everywhere and threatening looks weren’t going to keep them away forever. At that point Gert’s indifference to gender when it came to romantic relationships, doubled the number of people Chase needed to watch. The year passed, giving Chase the time to gather the courage to confront Gert and confess his feelings.

Only it never came to that.

Before Chase got the chance, Amy died, and everything fell apart.

 

                                                                       ***

“That’s quite the woman you have there.”

Chase’s shoulders relaxed a fraction of an inch. So at least they had an understanding of sorts. He still didn’t like the guy and his rage still hadn’t settled, especially after seeing that bastard blatantly checking out Gert, but right now the seconds were ticking away and he needed to come up with a way to keep bikerguy from following them.

“That’s right. My woman definitely is something. I’m sure I don’t have to explain why it would be a bad idea for you to come near her again?”

Chase kept his voice pleasant and a wide grin on his face as he moved closer. His father did that sometimes. Kept his voice nice and even before he went and lost his temper. The grin must’ve made him look a bit mad because the guy eyed him with caution.

“a woman like that doesn’t come around every day. She deserves someone good to take care of her. Deserves to go off to college, have new experiences, fall in love, live her life without having to look over her shoulder.” He looked Chase in the eyes, eyebrows raised like he was trying to make a point.

_Is he actually trying to give me advice on how to treat Gert? Trying to tell me how to take care of her?_ He was going to kill that bastard. Fury flooded his entire system. _Where the fuck does that scumbag get the nerve to tell him what his woman deserves!_ Was he trying to steal her from him? Trying to suggest he could make her happy and Chase couldn’t?

Chase drew back his arm, all sense forgotten. Ready to tear that fucker limb from limb.

“Just like Amy.”

_What the fuck?_

_Wait. Did he try the same thing with Amy?_ Utterly confused, he dropped his arm and opened his mouth, but before he got a word out, the creeper beat him to it.

“I don’t know what your parents are involved in and I don’t care. Mrs. Minoru pays my bills and I don’t ask questions but after what happened to Amy..” He looked down and Chase could swear there was pain in the guy’s face. Pain and regret maybe?

“I’m not letting the same happen to that girl of yours. When I last saw Amy before she died, she was scared as hell, scared of her mother. So I told her to run. Pack her bags and never come back. The next day she shows up dead. I know she didn’t commit suicide. Take your girl and go. Don’t make the same mistake Amy made, leave and don’t come back.”

Chase stared at the guy, completely dumbfounded. _Well this didn’t go as expected._ Maybe he should. Maybe they should just leave? He thought about the others. Nico’s questions about her sister, Karolina’s questions about the whole glowing thing, Alex’s hero- complex. _Yeah they won’t go for that_. And he wouldn’t be able to convince Gert on his own. It was a nice fantasy, but it wasn’t that simple.

“You’re not going to take my advice, are you? Get out of here kid, I’m sure your friends are waiting for you. Oh, and say hi to Gert for me. Tell her I still owe her that dance.”

_The balls on that prick! Goddamn motherfucker!_

Chase’s grin was back, madness included.

“Gotta make it believable don’t I? Mrs. Minoru has to think, you at least tried to stop us, doesn’t she?”

Chase saw his eyes go wide but he didn’t give the other guy the time to move. His fist flew up. Right in his face. The punch packed enough force to do some damage and Chase swore he felt the guy’s nose break.

He didn’t go down but he did stumble a few steps back. The commotion gave Chase the perfect opportunity to slip away. Time to deal with their parents and end this thing.

                                                                       ***


End file.
